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Trade-In Sales Following iPhone 16 Launch Have Increased by Almost 40% vs. iPhone 15

In a note to clients — as noted by AppleInsider — Morgan Stanley says that its surveys show iPhone 16 demand is lower than before.

The iPhone 16 launch has seen an increase in trade-in sales values of 38% and volumes of 28.8% vs last year’s iPhone 15 launch, according to a new report from SellCell, a site for selling used smartphones. 

Most iPhone trade-ins are coming from iPhone 15 Pro Max owners, comprising 27.2% of the launch trade-in volume. Here are other highlights from the Sellcell report:

  • In-house data also reveals that the iPhone 16 launch is the best launch since the iPhone 13 in 2021 by taking into account YOY volume and value increases. 
  • Last year the iPhone 15 launch showed a 16% decline in trade-in volume compared to the iPhone 14 during the early launch period.
  • The current 2024 trade-in data suggests that more users are trading in their iPhones than the 3 previous launches to upgrade to the new iPhone 16.
  • Most iPhone trade-ins (27.2%) are from iPhone 15 Pro Max Users in the first few days post the Apple reveal.
  • The data provides early positive signs for Apple that the iPhone 16 is going to be a good launch for them.

SellCell’s data looked at the trade-in sales by volume and value from the Apple Reveal day on September 9 and the following day. This data has been compared against the reveal date of the iPhone 15 (September 12, 2023) and the following day (September 13, 2023). The data looks at the total number of sales by volume and value across 40 phone buyers to see if there has been an uplift in sales between these two periods year on year.

The findings highlight on the launch date and following day that iPhone trade in volume and values were both up. Trade-in volume shows a 28.8% increase on the iPhone 15 launch and value of trade-ins 38% up vs. last year’s launch.

SellCell says that early data suggest that iPhone users with an iPhone 15 Pro Max are trading their devices in ahead of other iPhone owners. 27.2% of the total iPhone trade-ins over the early launch period are from iPhone 15 Pro Max owners. This is followed by iPhone 14 Pro Max owners that are likely to have come to the end of their two year contract at 15% share of the trade-ins by models.

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Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.